Is the 25-year hepatitis C marathon coming to an end to declare victory?

Table 2 Milestones in the history of hepatitis C

1975	Non-A, non-B hepatitis was first described[36,37]
1989	Randomized controlled trials were carried out using interferon alpha to treat non-A, non-B hepatitis[38-40]
1989	HCV was identified[1]
1991	Ribavirin is used as a monotherapy for chronic hepatitis C[41,42]
1995	The combination of interferon alpha and ribavirin were tested[43,44]
1996	Hepatitis C serine protease structure was published[45]
1998	First randomized double-blind, placebo controlled study using recombinant interferon alpha alone or in combination with ribavirin[46,47]
1999	Structure of hepatitis C RNA-dependent RNA polymerase NS5B was identified[48,49]
2001	Pegylated interferon alpha and ribavirin were used in trials[50,51]
2005	Structure of NS5A was published[52]
2011	First direct acting agents: Protease inhibitors were used in combination with pegylated interferon and ribavirin to treat hepatitis C genotype 1[53,54]
2012	Pilot studies using combinations of direct-acting antiviral drugs without interferon[55]
2014	Several direct acting antiviral medications were released to the market to treat different hepatitis C genotypes with SVR exceeding 90% and with better tolerability

HCV: Hepatitis C virus; SVR: Sustained virologic response.